Draft Pick Profile - Kali Flanagan (Fifth overall, Boston Pride)

PHOTO FROM BOSTON COLLEGE ATHLETICS

Kali Flanagan, a defender from Burlington, Massachusetts, plays college hockey for Boston College. Before, BC, Flanagan played for the National Sports Academy where she was a two-time captain. Throughout high school, she was also a four-time member of honor roll. Internationally, Flanagan attended USA Hockey’s National Development Camp four times as well as the August Festival in 2012.

As a freshman at BC, Flanagan recorded nine points in 39 games. Defensively, Flanagan blocked 18 shots and helped BC record a 1.20 goals-against average as a team. This mark was good for the fourth-best in the country.

The next year, as a sophomore, Flanagan doubled her freshman year point total with 18 points in 41 games played. She had a hot start to the season as it took her just 10 games into the season to pass the nine points she recorded as a freshman. She continued her strong defensive play as she helped the Eagles to a 1.24 goals-against average, good for third in the nation. She also helped the team record 14 shutouts and break a program record. Additionally, her total of 36 blocked shots doubled her total from her freshman year total. Academically, Flanagan’s work in school earned her a place on the ACC Honor Roll.

During her sophomore year, Flanagan also attended the 2015 USA Hockey Women’s National Team Festival and was selected for the 2015 US Under-22 Team to participate in an August series versus Canada. In this series, she recorded one assist in three games.

Her junior year, Flanagan continued her impressive play with 19 points in 41 games as BC’s second-highest scoring defender. She also continued to improve on her shot blocking total with 66 blocks. Her role in the BC defensive unit proved to be of much importance as the team had just four defensemen playing during a few games towards the end of the season. By season’s end, BC finished with a 1.54 goals-against average, good for third in the nation.

Flanagan continued to gain recognition from USA Hockey during her junior season. She participated in the 2016 USA Hockey Women’s National Team Festival and the U-22 Select Team’s August series versus Canada. Additionally, Flanagan made her National Team debut during the 2017 IIHF World Championships in Michigan where she won a gold medal.

Last year, Flanagan took a year off from school as she spent the year in Florida where she trained with the US National Team. Flanagan won a gold medal at the 2017 Four Nations Cup and was then named to the US Olympic Team on January 1, 2018. She then went on to win an Olympic gold medal at the Olympics in PyeongChang South Korea, where she played in five games.

This year, Flanagan is back at BC and ready to help lead the Eagles to a national title. She has 14 points in 30 games thus far. Flanagan was drafted fifth overall by the Boston Pride in the 2018 NWHL draft. She will graduate from BC’s Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences at the end of the school year.

3 Stars of the Week

Selander faced 99 shots over the course of the weekend and stopped 94 of them. On Friday, Selander allowed four goals on 41 shots in a 4-0 loss against Quinnipiac. However, Selander rebounded with an impressive 57-save performance in a 2-1 win over Princeton. After allowing a Princeton goal late in the first period, Selander shut the door as Rensselaer was outshot 39 to 12 over the last two periods. Overall, Selander finished the weekend with a 2.50-goals against average and a 0.949 save percentage.

Newkirk helped BC to three wins last week with four assists. In the Beanpot third-place game versus Northeastern on Friday, Newkirk picked up an assist and recorded four shots on net in a 4-1 win. Her assist came on the power play and on the game-winning goal early in the second period. BC had a second midweek game on Thursday, where Newkirk stayed scoreless in a 2-1 win over Maine. Then, during Friday’s 5-2 win over Maine, Newkirk had three assists. Two of her assists came on the power play.

All of Rae’s six points from this weekend came during a remarkable performance in a 7-1 win over Connecticut on Friday. Rae tallied two goals, four assists, three shots on net, and a team-leading plus-five rating. After assisting on the game-winning goal, Rae factored into the last five goals of the game. Four of her points came in the third period as she scored twice and picked up two primary assists. Rae had a less eventful day on Saturday as she stayed off the scoresheet in a 2-2 tie against Connecticut.

Must-See Matchup: Wisconsin vs. Ohio State

Last week’s must-see matchup between Clarkson and Harvard featured an exciting overtime win by Clarkson. The scoring started early in the game as Harvard scored on the power play less than four minutes into the game. However, Harvard did not hold onto their lead for long as Clarkson scored only 22 seconds later. In the second period, Loren Gabel of Clarkson, a Buffalo Beauts draft pick scored to give Clarkson the lead. Harvard fought back in the third period to tie the game. Lexie Laing, a Boston Pride draft pick in 2017, picked up an assist on Harvard’s tying goal. The game then went into overtime where Loren Gabel scored her second goal of the game with just five seconds left in the game. Despite staying off the scoresheet, T.T. Cianfrano, a 2017 Metropolitan Riveters draft pick, recorded six shots on net.

For this week’s must-see matchup, we will move west to the WCHA for a weekend series between Ohio State and Wisconsin. The two teams square off at 7:07 pm CT on Friday, February 22 and at 3:07 CT central time on Saturday, February 23. First overall pick for the Riveters Annie Pankowski, Pride draft pick Emily Clark, and Minnesota Whitecaps pick Sophia Shaver will all suit up for Wisconsin, while Whitecaps selection Lauren Boyle will play for Ohio State.

Recognitions

Katelyn Rae, a forward for Merrimack, was named the Hockey East Player of the Week. Rae had a six-point performance on Friday, becoming just the fourth player in Hockey East history to record six points in a single game. She is sixth in Hockey East scoring with 38 points on the season. The Connecticut Whale drafted Rae 12th overall in the NWHL draft last December

Emily Clark of Wisconsin was named the WCHA Forward of the Week after scoring three goals in two wins over Minnesota-Duluth. Clark’s three goals were tied for second-most in the NCAA this weekend. She was drafted 15th overall by the Boston Pride in the 2018 NWHL draft.

Lauren Boyle of Ohio State was named the WCHA Defenseman of the Week as she recorded three points in two games against Bemidji State. Her performance moved her into ninth place all-time among Ohio State defensemen with 66 career points. Boyle was drafted by the Minnesota Whitecaps 14th overall in the 2018 NWHL draft.